Absorbent articles such as diapers, incontinent undergarments, sanitary napkins and the like are widely used in various homes, hospitals and health care institutions. Typically, an absorbent article such as, e.g., a diaper, comprises a chassis defined basically by a liquid permeable topsheet, a liquid impervious backsheet and an absorbent sheet or layer sandwiched between the topsheet and the backsheet. Sometimes, the chassis may also include an acquisition layer disposed between the topsheet and absorbent sheet and one or more other layers for one purpose or another. The chassis itself has a front waist section and a backwaist section, the waist section being somewhat flared so that the flared portion may be wrapped around the torso of the wearer, and fastening means or adhesive strips are used to secure the flared portions (wings) together.
In order to improve securement of the diaper around the waist of the wearer, so-called T-shaped diapers have been proposed and described in several prior art patents. One T-shaped absorbent article has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,873 issued to Jackilyn M. Knight on Feb. 26, 1991. The absorbent article described by Knight has a crosspiece and an intersecting piece, which together form a generally T-shaped configuration when the article is laid out flat. Releasable fastening means such as press-on/rip-off adhesive or Velcro® strips are used to attach the crosspiece and intersecting piece together.
Commonly assigned, copending application Ser. No. 09/797,334, filed Mar. 1, 2001, describes a T-shaped absorbent article, e.g., a diaper with emphasis on the type of fastening system used in order to enhance securement of diaper to the body. The prior art patents discussed in said copending application describe other T-shaped absorbent garments. One patent mentioned therein, U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,604 issued on May 25, 1999 to Ronnberg et al., describes an attachment means for a belt used with an absorbent garment. The belt is either integrated with the absorbent garment, or it can be separately attached thereto by means of a releasable attachment system such as hook and loop type fastening means, e.g., Velcro®.
Regardless of whether the absorbent article is T-shaped or the more traditional type, it is generally recognized that their commercial production involves the use of complicated machinery and equipment. The paramount consideration in the design and operation of such machinery and equipment is the efficiency of production and quality of the absorbent garments which are produced. The efficiency of production depends, in turn, on the effectiveness of the method of assembly of the component parts of the absorbent garment. These are serious considerations in the economic and competitive fabrication of absorbent garments, particularly the recently used T-shaped absorbent garments.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient and commercially viable method of manufacturing absorbent articles.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing absorbent articles having wings or flaps attached to the chassis of the article.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a continuous method of attaching wings to the chassis of an absorbent article such as a T-shaped brief.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a continuous method of forming a T-shaped diaper complete with all basic components of the diaper, including a fastening system, ready for shipment from the manufacturing plant.
The foregoing and other features and objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings.